Indonesia's president defended a decision to raise fuel prices beginning today as the only way to stave off an economic crisis, while calling on thousands of demonstrators who have taken to the streets to refrain from violence.
"Anarchy will only deter investment," President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said hours before the size of the hike was to be announced.
Ministers said the cost of gasoline, diesel fuel and kerosene could climb by as much as 50 percent -- pushing up the price of everything from rice to cigarettes in the sprawling country of 220 million people, half of whom live on less than US$2 a day.
PHOTO: AFP
Demonstrations in 17 cities were small and scattered, though numbers swelled in the predominantly Muslim nation after Friday prayers, with thousands turning out.
Soldiers and riot police patrolled major traffic intersections and strategic locations across the capital, including the presidential palace, parliament and some gas stations.
The price hikes follow Yudhoyono's decision to slash fuel subsidies that have helped protect Indonesia's poorest from spiraling global prices for years, but also threatened to blow the cash-strapped government's budget. Last year, the government doled out US$7.4 billion for the subsidies -- more than the international community has pledged on rebuilding efforts in countries hit by last year's tsunami.
"I realize that this is not a popular policy, a bitter pill that we have to swallow, but we have to do it to save the nation's budget and the future of the country," Yudhoyono said at the opening of a new Honda motor plant outside of Jakarta.
Motorists hoping to fill their tanks with cheap gas formed long lines at gas stations nationwide. Some stations were closed, hanging up signs that said "Sorry, we've run out." So far the demonstrations have been smaller than expected, given the size of the country and its history of massive street rallies, cheering investors. The Indonesian stock market and the local currency have taken a hit recently amid the economic uncertainty.
"Investors are just relieved the fuel price hike demonstrations haven't happened," one dealer said on condition of anonymity. "There really isn't much other news to boost the market," the dealer added.
Despite being Southeast Asia's only member of OPEC, Indonesia has to import oil because of decades of declining investment in exploration and extraction due to corruption and a weak legal system that makes people wary of doing business here. Everyone agrees that the current level of subsidies -- which allow Indonesian motorists to fill up for less than US$0.25 per liter -- are unsustainable. Still, raising prices is a sensitive issue in Indonesia, where a massive hike in 1998 triggered rioting that helped topple former dictator Suharto.
Four people jailed in the landmark Hong Kong national security trial of "47 democrats" accused of conspiracy to commit subversion were freed today after more than four years behind bars, the second group to be released in a month. Among those freed was long-time political and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham (岑子杰), who also led one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups, the Civil Human Rights Front, which disbanded in 2021. "Let me spend some time with my family," Sham said after arriving at his home in the Kowloon district of Jordan. "I don’t know how to plan ahead because, to me, it feels
The collapse of the Swiss Birch glacier serves as a chilling warning of the escalating dangers faced by communities worldwide living under the shadow of fragile ice, particularly in Asia, experts said. Footage of the collapse on Wednesday showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside into the hamlet of Blatten. Swiss Development Cooperation disaster risk reduction adviser Ali Neumann said that while the role of climate change in the case of Blatten “still needs to be investigated,” the wider impacts were clear on the cryosphere — the part of the world covered by frozen water. “Climate change and
Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election today between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner would succeed Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome would determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos would be released when polls close today at 9pm local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected tomorrow. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the
DENIAL: Musk said that the ‘New York Times was lying their ass off,’ after it reported he used so much drugs that he developed bladder problems Elon Musk on Saturday denied a report that he used ketamine and other drugs extensively last year on the US presidential campaign trail. The New York Times on Friday reported that the billionaire adviser to US President Donald Trump used so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that he developed bladder problems. The newspaper said the world’s richest person also took ecstasy and mushrooms, and traveled with a pill box last year, adding that it was not known whether Musk also took drugs while heading the so-called US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after Trump took power in January. In a